


Christmas Story

by orphan_account



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/F, M/M, Storytelling, gay fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-16
Updated: 2015-12-27
Packaged: 2018-05-07 00:49:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5437262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Narrated By: Thalia, Clio, Erato, Ourania and Calliope</p><p> Parts played by: Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter</p><p> Songs played by: Apollo Cabin, led by Euterpe</p><p> Dance by: Apollo Cabin(Roman) led by Terpsichore</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. THe Nutcracker and the Mouse King

"I want to narrate, sis!" Thalia whined, jumping around her eldest sister. The two camps watched the nine goddess fight over who was going to read the story. Calliope, who was taller then her sister, held the story book above her head. The comedy muse jumped, trying to reach the book in the heroic art muse's hands.  
  
"No. I will narrate this book. It's-what do you children say these days? 'Right up my alley?'" She asked, directing her two colored eyes at the group seated below the stage. They all nodded. Calliope smiled.  
  
"It's funny. You don't do funny, Calliope." Thalia muttered, but sat back. Calliope nodded, sat next to her, and opened the book.  
  
"So the story begins, on Christmas Eve night."  
  
It was the night before Christmas. Percy and Jason were sitting by the door of the kitchen. Their cheeks were red after throwing snowballs outside in the cold air. Their eyes shone brighter than the candles on the Christmas tree, and were chattering very excitedly about something."  
  
"Why am I Carla?!" Percy yelled, struggling against Polymnia and Thalia, as they forced him into a frilly pink dress. Finally they got the boy into it, and they sat him next to Jason, who was dressed neatly in a suit and tie.  
  
"What were two children so excited about on Christmas Eve? You don’t have to be a genius to guess the answer to that question – for they were talking about…Presents.  
  
The presents for Percy and Jason were wrapped up and waiting for them on the kitchen table, just on the other side of the door. But the children were forbidden to go through the door until it was time – time for presents. And as they couldn’t see the presents, they talked about them instead.  
  
“I bet,” said Jason, “that this year, Godfather Chiron has made a two entire armies of clockwork soldiers – thousands and thousands of them; cavalry, and infantry, and artillery – and they’ll go to war with each other and fire cannons and guns like this: BAAAMMMMM! It will be just like a real battle!”  
  
“Oh no!” Said Percy. “I do hope he’s made something more pretty than that. I think he’s made a toy theatre with an orchestra that plays, and ballerinas who look like swans and dance on their tip-toes. In fact, Godfather Chiron has told me himself that he had been to see the Russian dancers – and that they were the most marvelous thing he had ever seen – and that’s why I think he’s making a magic theatre for us.”  
  
“You’re such a silly nincompoop sometimes,” said Jason. “Godfather Chrion doesn’t do magic. He makes clockwork that you can wind up.”  
  
"What's a nincompoop?" Jason quietly asked, looking directly at Calliope. She shrugged.  
  
"You English people are odd." She muttered, going back to the story.  
  
“Oh yes he does do magic,” said Percy. “And in any case, you’re the silly nincompoop – so there!”  
  
The children chattered on, until at last the door bell rang to announce that Godfather Chiron himself had arrived at the house. The children rushed to meet him in the hall.  
  
“Oh godfather, do please come into the kitchen so we can open our presents,” begged Percy.  
  
He was a funny-looking man, who wore a wig that sometimes slid half off his head. He had a faint mustache that had never grown very bushy, and his left eye was usually half closed. His hands and fingers were very tiny, but he was ever so clever with them – for Jason was right; Godfather Chiron was a watch and clock maker, and one of the cleverest who ever lived at that. Then perhaps Percy was right too – maybe, just maybe he also could do a little magic. But in any case, his presents were always amazing and wonderful.  
  
It took a while to gather the whole family; including parents, children, aunts, uncles and godparents. At last it was time to open the presents. Sweets, dolls, and tin soldiers all emerged out of the wrapping, and even a sultan’s palace beautifully carved and painted. They were exciting and lovely presents – and at last they were all opened – except that they hadn’t yet found a gift from Godfather Chiron. Percy understood that he was keeping back an extra special surprise for them, but Jason thought that their godfather was such a strange man, that perhaps he had forgotten all about Christmas this year. Both children were too polite to ask – but Percy gave his Godfather a gift of his own – a picture of a sugarplum fairy that he painted himself. The old man was clearly delighted with it.  
  
He said, “And what have I got for dear Percy and Jason this year? Ah yes, I remember now. It’s here in my waistcoat pocket.”  
  
He pulled out a very small present – no longer than his hand. “Which one of you two wants to open it this year?”  
  
Jason saw how small the present was and said, “Let Percy open it. He’s so excited about it because he’s still a baby.”  
  
Percy took the present and felt it. Yes here was its head – a little on the large size, and here were its legs. He smiled and said, “It’s a doll. I bet it dances.”  
  
He carefully unwrapped it, and saw that it wasn’t just a doll. It was a nutcracker – painted to look like a soldier. The handles were legs in bright red trousers, and with feet in shiny boots, and the part where you put the nuts to crack them looked like an oversized head with giant jaws. On top of its head it wore a tall fury hat. To tell you the truth, it was rather ugly.  
  
“Why, thank you,” said Percy. “You’re not disappointed, are you?” Godfather Chiron asked.  
  
“No,” he said. “I love the nutcracker soldier because he’s funny,” and he gave his godfather a hug and a kiss.  
  
But Jason did not like the nutcracker soldier at all. He thought it was useless – well almost – you could use it to crack nuts, and after dinner that’s what they did. Percy and Jason sat under the Christmas tree and cracked walnuts in the mouth of the soldier. Percy wasn’t quite strong enough to break the shells, but Jason found it easy, until he tried to break open an extra hard nut. He squeezed and squeezed and squeezed until the nutcracker eventually broke. One of its jaws came off, leaving the poor solider with half a mouth."  
  
"You testing my man-hood, eh, Sparky?" Percy asked, sliding up one of his frilly sleeves. Jason backed off.  
  
“Oh no!” Squealed Percy. -"I don't squeal"- “Why did you do that?” He grabbed the nutcracker and the broken off piece of its jaw and ran off to find their mother – But what could his mother do? All she could do was to hug Percy and promise that Godfather Chiron would make the nutcracker as good as new in the morning. It was funny, but now that the nutcracker soldier was damaged, Percy felt sorry for it. Even though it had an ugly face, he began to love it as much as if it were the most beautiful doll in the world. When Percy went to lay it under the Christmas tree, he felt so sad that he lay down and held the broken solider closely to him. He cried a little, and soon he fell asleep amongst the presents. If you had come into the room just then, you might have thought that Percy himself was a big doll, like the others, flopped under the tree.  
  
At midnight, the twelve chimes of the grandfather clock roused Percy from his sleep. He sat up and wondered for a while where he was. As she looked up she saw Godfather Chiron sitting on the very top of the tree in the place of the angel. “Godfather! What are you doing up there?” She said. But he did not answer, because he was just a doll. -"That's...not how it went in the movie."- Then she saw the nutcracker. Oh, how sad it looked, lying there with a piece missing. Then the nutcracker-soldier suddenly turned over… and it smiled at her with its broken face.  
  
He screamed -"It was a manly scream, but you would be scared as well."- and started to run for the door. He had only taken a few steps when he saw that the whole floor in front of her was covered with mice – only they weren’t ordinary mice because they were dressed as soldiers and they had swords and rifles. Out in front they were lead by a terrible rodent with seven heads, each with a golden crown on it. I think that anyone can get a fright from a mouse – they are so small and squeaky, but at the same time they appear out of holes and cracks so suddenly that they catch us by surprise. But an army of mice? And a Seven-headed Mouse King? This was a terrible sight indeed! Perhaps I don’t need to tell you that Percy let out a scream!"  
  
"Once again. Manly." Percy said, folding his arms. Thalia giggled with him.  
  
"But before he could scream, or cry, or run, the nutcracker doll rushed forward followed by his own army of dolls and tin soldiers, and the battle between the toys and the mice broke out all around Percy’s feet. The mice squeaked and guns and cannons fired on both sides. Percy wondered why the whole family was not awoken by the terrible noise. Toys and mice lay wounded on all sides, and the nutcracker was fighting with the Mouse King. The Mouse King was biting the nutcracker with his seven heads, but the nutcracker fought on – if only he was not broken he could have caught the Mouse King in his jaws, but as it was, all he could do was to dance, jump, and kick with his long legs. He was winning the fight with the king, but losing the battle, for he was surrounded by mice soldiers who caught him by the feet and started to drag him away.  
  
“Oh no you don’t!” Screamed Percy, and he took off his shoe and threw it as hard as he could at the Mouse King. He just missed him, but he took fright and started to run. When the army of mice saw their king running from a giant and his flying shoes they turned and fled in terror. In a moment they had vanished into the cracks between the floor boards, leaving their prisoner, the nutcracker, behind them. All the toys cheered and began to dance, until at last, when the first light came through the window they crept back into the toy box, or went back to sleep under the Christmas tree.  
  
Percy pulled himself back to his own room and fell into a deep sleep. He awoke late on Christmas morning. When he went downstairs, he found Godfather Chiron. He had already fixed the nutcracker doll so that he was as good as new.  
  
…  
  
“Thank you so much, dear Godfather,” said Percy. “He’s the best present I ever had.” Then he told him all about her strange dream, and her Godfather put his head on one side, while he listened to his dream, and when he had finished telling him, he said. “Interesting. Very interesting indeed. Your dream reminds me of a story. Let me tell it to you now”  
  
This is the story that he told Percy:  
“One Christmas some bad mice crept into the royal palace and gobbled up all the sausage meat that was meant for the king’s special Christmas lunch. The king was furious, and he summoned his special inventor – whose name was Chiron, and who made many wonderful things. He ordered him to make some mousetraps – which he did – and these were left in the palace kitchens. Soon they had caught lots of mice. The queen of the mice was furious, as the mice that lay in the traps were her children. She climbed up onto the human queen’s dressing room table, and just as the queen was going to bed, the queen mouse said, “So you dared to kill my children did you? Well I’ll have my revenge, I will. I’ll make your little princess turn quite ugly.” The queen screamed, and her guards rushed in to the room with drawn swords – but the mouse queen had disappeared behind the skirting board.  
  
It so happened that the king and queen had a beautiful daughter called Princess Annabeth. -"Wait. What?" The daughter of Athena gapped.- When The king heard about the threats of the mouse queen, he ordered the bed of the princess to be guarded by seven fierce cats so that no mouse could get near her- but even cats must sleep. When they were curled up and purring softly, the queen mouse crept past them and climbed up on to the end of Princess Annabeth’s cot. There she said an evil magic spell, and in the morning, when she looked in the mirror, she saw that her face had been turned quite, quite ugly. Her nose was long and had a wart on the end of it, her eyes were small and squinty, her hair was standing up on end and would not settle down, and she had spots on her chin. In fact, she wasn’t just ugly; she was hideous.  
  
As you can imagine, the queen was utterly distraught – and the king, well he was beside himself. He summoned Chiron again and gave him just four weeks to find a cure for the princess’ ugliness – or else.  
  
Chiron was an inventor, however, and not a magician. He did not know any spells or anti-spells. He did not know what to do, and so he asked the court astrologer for his advice. The advice he received was that Princess Annabeth must eat a nut called a Crakatook. First the nut must be cracked by a boy who had never shaved, and he must do it without opening his eyes, and then he must take seven steps backwards without stumbling.  
  
Well, Chiron searched the land for a crakatook nut, and eventually, after almost four weeks were up, he found one in a small shop. He brought it before the king.  
  
“This nut, sire,” he said, “is the cure for your daughter’s ugliness. She must eat it. But first the nut must be cracked by a boy who has never shaved, and he must do it with his eyes closed, and then he must take seven steps backwards without stumbling.”  
  
The king was pleased that the cure for his daughter was so straight forward. He made a law that that any boy who fulfilled the conditions and cured his daughter of ugliness would have the hand in marriage of the princess. Many boys came to the palace and tried to crack the nut, but not one could succeed, until one day when Chiron’s own nephew was visiting his uncle in the palace. His face was still smooth, he had not quite reached the age when he needed to shave, and his uncle asked if he would like to try his hand at cracking the nut.  
  
The nephew held the nut between his teeth, he closed his eyes, and he cracked it. Then he took seven steps backwards, and on the seventh step he stumbled.  
  
However, Princess Annabeth was cured of her ugliness, and was beautiful once more – Chiron’s nephew caught the spell, and his face became ugly. In place of his nice kind mouth, he wore a stupid grin, and his smooth cheeks grew a white curly beard. His head grew too large for his shoulders. And he looked not only ugly, but stupid too.  
  
Although the king had promised that his daughter would marry the boy who cured her, his daughter refused to marry one who was so ugly, and the king had to agree that it would not be proper for the princess to marry such an ugly, stupid looking boy.  
  
As Chiron’s nephew went home, people pointed and laughed at him. His teacher said he could no longer come to school because he looked so stupid – so he stayed at home, all alone.  
  
That was the story that Godfather Chiron told to Percy. He thanked his Godfather for telling his such an interesting story, but he had to admit that it had made him feel rather sad. That night Percy was thinking about the strange tale, and he could not fall asleep. After a long while of laying awake, he heard a voice whispering in his ear.  
  
It was the mouse king who had come back. He said to him, “Feed me your sweets, or I will bite off the head of your precious nutcracker, and I will spit it out where nobody will find it again, not even your ingenious godfather.”  
  
Percy was so afraid for the nutcracker that he got up and found some sweets for the Mouse king. He gobbled them up with this seven heads in an instance, and then he demanded more. He went down to the pantry and found some cake, and he ate all of that too, and the Christmas pudding, and the newly baked biscuits. Still he wanted more.  
  
“How much more shall I give you?” Asked Percy. The Mouse King said, “It is for me to say when to stop. Give me more. More I say!”  
  
Percy began to cry –"Clara's such a cry baby."- "for what would his mother say in the morning when he found that all the sweets, cake and biscuits in the house had been eaten? As he was crying, the nutcracker came striding into the room. The Mouse king turned around and said, “Prepare to die, oh ugly one,” but the nutcracker bit off each of the Mouse King’s seven heads, and soon he lay dead."  
  
It was silent, "That's not how the movie went."  
  
When he had defeated his enemy, Percy picked up his hero and took him back to his room. Instead of going to sleep, they watched a wonderful show. Toys came out to dance and sing for them all night long. Never before had Percy seen such a lovely performance.  
  
In the morning \he could not wait to tell his mother all about what he had seen. When he began to explain about the seven headed mouse king and the brave little nutcracker, his mother said, “Percy, your imagination is running wild. Don’t you realize that what you saw is just a dream?”  
  
“But look mother,” said Percy, reaching into his pocket. “Here are the seven crowns of the mouse king that the nutcracker defeated!”  
  
“Just toys!” Said his mother. “Stop being silly. Can’t you see I’m busy?” So Percy went into the nursery and sat down and cried.  
  
“It is true, it is true,” he said. “And if the nutcracker was a person, not just a, well, a nutcracker, then I would love him and marry him even if he was ugly. I would not be like that Princess Annabeth in the story. I would love a boy for his good heart – not for his handsome face.”  
  
As he said that, he heard the doorbell, followed by her Godfather’s voice in the hall. He went to see him to tell him what he was thinking, but there was no need. Godfather Chiron had come with his nephew, his nephew was no longer ugly – but handsome, bright-eyed and smiling. When Percy had promised to marry an ugly but good boy, he had broken the spell. He had regained his looks of old, and they both knew that one day they would be married to each other and live happily ever after." Calliope closed the book, grinning.  
  
"I knew Percy was gay."  
  
"Who was the nutcracker?!"  
  
"Nico!"  
"Huh?" The Italian looked over, blinking at Percy in a dress.  
  
"You have to come marry me. Quick." Percy snapped his fingers. Nico blinked again. Then blushed deeply.  
  
"Somebodies in looove." Thalia, Clio and Erato sang. Nico chased his cousins around the campfire., while Percy laughed, then caught him, pressing his lips to his. The muses giggled, other then Calliope and Melpomene. "I call next one!" Thalia yelled, waving her hands, then grabbing the book, and settling down.  



	2. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Thalia smiled happily, and opened the book. She folded her legs underneath her body, and cleared her throat. She began the story, the smile still painted on her face.

 

 

"'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house  
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.  
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,  
in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,  
while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads.  
And Mama in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,  
had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap.

When out on the roof there arose such a clatter,  
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.  
Away to the window I flew like a flash,  
tore open the shutter, and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow  
gave the lustre of midday to objects below,  
when, what to my wondering eyes should appear,  
but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,  
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.  
More rapid than eagles, his coursers they came,  
and he whistled and shouted and called them by name:

"Now Dasher! Now Dancer!  
Now, Prancer and Vixen!  
On, Comet! On, Cupid!  
On, Donner and Blitzen!  
To the top of the porch!  
To the top of the wall!  
Now dash away! Dash away!  
Dash away all!" "

"What about Rudolph?" Percy said, sitting in Nico's lap, still dressed in the frilly pink dress.

"He ate him." Melpomene muttered, her hair covering her face, as she faced away from the fire. It was silent as everybody stared at her. 

"Well...St. Nicolas is mostly European, and Rudolph is an American legend." Clio said, holding up a large red book. Everybody nodded.

 Thalia continued.

"As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,  
when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky  
so up to the house-top the coursers they flew,  
with the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof  
the prancing and pawing of each little hoof.  
As I drew in my head and was turning around,  
down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,  
and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.  
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,  
and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes--how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!  
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!  
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,  
and the beard on his chin was as white as the snow.  
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,  
and the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.  
He had a broad face and a little round belly,  
that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly."

 

"That's rude." Clio said, poking her sister in the cheek. Thalia blinked up at her. 

"Tell that to the book, sis."

 

"He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,  
and I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.  
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head  
soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,  
and filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.  
And laying his finger aside of his nose,  
and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,  
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.  
But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!" "

 

Thalia finished, smiling brightly at the campers. "You know that in Germany and Russia there's this creature that eats-" Clio, Calliope, and Erato tackled her, from the chair. 

Melpomene picked the book up. "That eats children that are bad, and has evil toy minions. Merry Christmas." She said, face sad, with tears slipping free from her eyes. The remaining sisters attacked her, pilling her away. The campers stared at them fighting. Then, a new camper, Natalie Volkov, from Russia, looks over.

"Da. It's true." 


End file.
